Mori Taheripour Shares How to Bring Yourself to Negotiations

Apr, 14, 2020

When we think of negotiators, we often think of people who are trying to find a bargain, job seekers, or people on the front lines of a hostage situation. Those things might be true some of the time, but there’s so much more to it than that. Life is a negotiation; and right now, it’s showing up in the form of negotiating new structures, working arrangements, and relationships in light of the coronavirus pandemic. We’re all negotiators.

Our question this episode: what are the benefits of bringing yourself – your true self – to a negotiation?

My conversation with Mori Taheripour focuses on her new book, “Bring Yourself: How to Harness the Power of Connection to Negotiate Fearlessly.” We talk about the different traits of effective negotiators (it’s not what you would assume), the role of empathy in successful negotiations (and relationships), and what to keep in mind when you’re negotiating ideas with someone you disagree with (she feels hopeful we can find common ground).

Meet + Connect with Mori

Mori Taheripour is an award-winning faculty member in the Legal Studies and Business Ethics Department at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches Negotiations and Dispute Resolution. As a consultant, her past and current clients include the Goldman Sachs Foundation, Major League Baseball, and the White House Fellows Program, among others.

From 2010 to 2014, Mori also served as the first-ever Senior Advisor for Sport for Development at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). She earned her MBA from the Wharton School and her BA in psychology and pre-medical studies from Barnard College/Columbia University. Born in Iran, she moved to the USA as a child and now lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her new book is titled, BRING YOURSELF: How to Harness the Power of Connection to Negotiate Fearlessly.